At a packed meeting of the Queens Park Residents Association more than 60 people gave a positive response for plans to run the estate themselves.

And there was rapturous applause when the Layton tenants were told of plans to gate off the 494-unit council estate.

The association claims it could make a better job of managing the trouble-hit flats and homes and could even attract more money to build new homes.

Queens Park is home to around 1,500 residents who say they have been plagued by drug dealers and violence throughout its existence.

But a plan by the association, which would need permission from its current management team Blackpool Coastal Housing (BCH), could mean that in the future the tenants take over the running of the estate.

Gwen King, chairman of the Queens Park Residents Association, said: "We know we can make this a success. We have a close community here who are positive about making the plans a reality.

"This estate has been neglected for too long. Some of the facilities in the flats have become so antiquated they are now unusable.

"The process will take a long time, and, if we are successful, it will be the first time this has happened in Blackpool.

"We know we can get a lot more funding for the benefit of the community than BCH ever can."

The association will now look into forming a tenant management organisation to consider the next step.

An action plan drawn up by the association includes introducing a 24-hour conc-ierge service for each of the five tower blocks and modern fittings in all homes.

Aliceon Higginbottom, area house officer for BCH, told the meeting that it could gate off the estate and introduce the concierge service within three years.

She added: "The funding is available but we need the support of residents to make it happen.

"We want a message to go out to drug dealers and criminals to say you are not wanted here, and you are not welcome."

A fob key security system at Walter Robinson Court is due to be installed over the coming months.

Security officers and police on the estate said extra patrols were being sent out onto the estate in a bid to control dealers and criminal damage.

Queens Park is the most watched estate in Blackpool with CCTV cameras covering 93 per cent of the estate.

If the move goes ahead it would mean giving up the chance of a share in the £66m recently allocated to BCH by the Government.